893.00/14918
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 4, 1943.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s despatch no. 759 of November 27, 194270 in regard to contemporary developments in Sinkiang, and to enclose for the information of the Department a copy of an item appearing in China Information Committee Daily Bulletin No. 515 of December 5, 1942 under the title “Sinkiang Calls”.70
It will be observed that the item reports that the problem of the development of frontier regions, particularly Sinkiang, received special attention at the Tenth Plenary Session of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang; and that the National Government currently intends to allocate a large sum of money to finance the emigration of young technicians and educators to Sinkiang; further, “The surplus staff of all government offices will be encouraged to work in the Northwest and Sinkiang.” The item indicates that 10,000 persons will be invited from the various training corps and the Ministry of Education for migration to Sinkiang, each of whom will be permitted to take with him a family of five at Government expense.
Mr. Lone Liang, chief of the Western European Department of the Foreign Office, in a casual conversation with a member of the Embassy staff on December 10, confirmed that the Government proposed to move some 10,000 surplus officials and others into Sinkiang as reported, most of them having Tihua for their destination. Mr. Liang indicated that most of the concerned officials would belong to the older group of public servants, and said that the transfer had already begun. He stated that the Government was appropriating a large sum of money for various economic projects in Sinkiang, and that Chinese troops would also presumably be moved into the province. Mr. Liang admitted that the problem of housing the new arrivals upon their arrival in Tihua would be considerable.
Respectfully yours,